My Personal Weight-Loss Journey: Day 29

By Olua

I guess I’ve always been a really impatient person. I can invest time and effort into things, don’t get me wrong, but I always need to see some kind of yield, and I usually need to see it fast. I do it when I’m writing papers (I don’t double space until I’m on the third page so that I feel better about how far I’ve come), I do it when I’m cleaning (I only clean one portion of my room at a time), and I’m pretty sure there are other things that I can’t even think of. So I guess it goes without saying that the fact that I am not losing any weight is really, really bothering me.

Surprisingly, I stumbled across an answer to my frustrated question from a surprising source. Alright, it may not be all that surprising, but I always distanced myself from Redbook; it just bothers me on principle. But they have a surprisingly poignant article that gave me a bit of insight as to why I haven’t lost at least HALF a pound. Here are half a dozen reasons you might not be, either.

1: You’re a couch potato. I’m not entirely a couch potato, and I only watch about two hours worth of television once a week (it used to be three, but no more Project Runway for me). Still, I spend at least four hours a day in front of my computer, whether it’s doing research, writing a paper, writing for CC, or less honorable things like forums and Facebook.

Watching one to two and a half hours of TV a day makes you 93% more likely to be overweight that people who don’t, according to Researchers at Deakin University in Australia. You’re not moving at all when you’re watching TV, really, and I suppose the fact that my FINGERS are moving while I’m at the compy helps my case a little. But once your show is over, turn off the tube. And if you need to do something while you’re watching, chew some gum or knit to keep your mind semi-occupied. And if you HAVE to snack, do it healthily!

2: You’re married. Okay, I don’t know how many of us this applies to, but it makes sense. Couples put on about five pounds in their first two years of marriage because they fall into a kind of norm. This could be pretty easily related to couples who are living together but haven’t gotten hitched yet. I prefer to stretch even a bit to couples dorming together. The plan? Grab your beau and go to the gym TOGETHER. We’ve already established that gymming together is more fun than gymming (that’s not a word, is it?) by yourself.

3: You’re stressed. Guilty. Stress releases a nasty hormone called Cortisol that tells your body to hold on to fat, especially the tummy kind. It’s also the hormone that’s responsible for those cookie-dough cravings, amongst other things that are comfortingly horrible for you. Being in my junior year with my thesis looming over my head like some evil omnipresent demigod is NOT conducive to being calm and collected, let me tell you. Redbook says something that I never thought I would take personally from a magazine for 30+ women; “Change what you can and let go of what you can’t.” Most insightful thing I’ve heard all day!

When it gets bad, though, you gotta stop and chill out. Take a few minutes to close your eyes and just breathe. I know it sounds silly, but it WORKS. Still, if that’s too much for you, check yourself into a yoga class. The breathing and stretching exercises will release Seratonin, the feel-good hormone that’s the bane of Cortisol’s existence.

4: You only drink once or week. It seems perfectly reasonable; you don’t drink all week, but on Saturday, you go out with the girls and/or guys and have three or four drinks. No biggie, right? Wrong. University at Buffalo research has revealed – though they can’t quite figure out why – that people who drink a lot once a week have more tummy fat than those who drink sparingly a few times a week. We all know the answer to this one; moderation, moderation, moderation. Drinks have more calories than you’d think.

5: You comfort-eat during the winter months. This isn’t too much a problem now that we’ve got more sunlight, but the cold, dreary winter can sure make you miserable, depressed, and…hungry. People who have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) are even worse. Raymond W. Lam, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, states, “Shorter daylight hours may lead to a decrease in levels of the brain chemicals Serotonin and Dopamine, causing you to feel sluggish and to crave carbs and sweets.”

And though it’s not really a concern now, when that time of year rolls around, exercise in the daytime while the sun it out. And don’t go stocking up on holiday goodies just because they’re there! Your kitchen should have the same healthy stuff in it is has in summer.

6: You don’t sleep as much as you should. Guilty. I know, it’s hard to really work around this one. But not getting enough sleep can really screw with your metabolism. The result is that before you look around, those five pounds you were trying to lose have somehow doubled. You need a good seven to eight hours a night. If you’re not getting that, try to readjust your schedule so that your body can get the rest it needs. Worst case scenario, take a quickie nap (20 minutes) or a good long nap (two or three hours) in the middle of the day to boost your metabolism back up.

I’ve determined what’s wonky about my lack of losing weight, and hopefully any of you guys following along have too. I know it’s too soon for me to even be remotely upset about this, but knowing what I’m doing wrong now is better than realizing what I’m doing wrong in August. Now I can fix my behavior for the better. And don’t forget; if you’re gaining weight, try to get one of those snazzy scales I mentioned a few blogs back. You could be gaining muscle mass or just retaining water weight. Don’t get too upset too easily.

Oh, and as a side note; I know I promised a retelling of my diet for a whole seven days. Truth be told, I forgot a day or two. Okay, more like three. However, the day I had the most energy, I had the following: a small omelet and half a grapefruit at 9:00 a.m., an apple at 11:30 a.m., Odwalla’s “Mo’Beta” fruit shake at 3:15 p.m., a handful of jelly beans at 5:00 pm (they were asking for it!), a chicken salad/mushroom/mozzerella grilled panini and a spring-green salad with sesame ginger dressing and sunflower seeds at 6:45 p.m., and a handful of baby carrots around 11:00 p.m. I didn’t turn in until around one, mind you. But I went through that day with no caffeine and nothing to drink but water and didn’t once feel tired.

So that’s all for this week. It’s rough, but…I’m starting to get used to it, I think. And I’m thinking that maybe I can do this after all.

Current Weight: 227…

Current Size: XXL, or 20/22.